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CQEflUGHT DEPOSm 



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( A REPLY 

TO The 
itESOLUTiONS AND ADDRESS 

OF 

.f MEETmG COJ^VEJ^ED AT MARTLLVGS, IJV THE 
CITY OF ^EW-YORKy FEBRUARY 4, 1811. 



eONTAINING, 

THE PROCEEDINGS 

OF THIS 

Committee of Safety, of 76, 

AGAINST 

MANGLE MI^THORNE^ 

CHAIRMAN OF THAT MEETING, 



By a Whig of '16. 



J^E W.YORK: - 
PRINTED BY HENRY C. SOUTHWICK, 

No. 3, New-streeti 
181i. 



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^^h 






TO THE PEOPLE. 



tSJENDS, COUNTRYMEN, AND FELLOW CITIZENS, 

ALLOW me to appeal to you upon a subject dear 
and interesting to us all. The security of the whig 
party and itF principles is of the first consequence to 
our happiness, and the man who would jeopardize 
either, is an enemy to the country. There never wa« 
a period when union was more imperiously required. 
Surrounded as we are by foreign and domestic diffi- 
culties, we have much to contend with, and much to 
apprehend. 

In this situation of our affairs, it was with regret 
that I have read an address which has been promul- 
gated to the world, and which, if it should receive 
attention and countenance, must end in the total over- 
throw of the republican party, for the bulk of mankind 
are not so depraved as to make a voluntary sacrifice 
of some of their best and most valuable citizens. 

That there exists in the city of New York, under 
the assumed but false name of Madisonian, a faction 
•which meditates the destruction of the whig party in 
this state, is a truth that artifice can no longer disguise^ 
and incredulity no longer disbelieve. It pursues its 
object with a zeal proportioned to the magnitude of 
the attempt, under pretences which are calculated to 
deceive) with a boldness that alarms the timid, and 



with an effrontery that marks the desperation of its 
vie ^vs. 

No calumny is too foul for it to employ. No false- 
hood too gross for it to circulate. But marching on 
in its course of proscription, it wages a barbarous war 
against virtue and talents. The most distinguished — 
the most tried — and the best beloved of our fellow- 
citizens are held up to public execration. Whig.'^ and 
the sons of whigs are denounced, and even the soldier 
of the revolution is branded as an apostate. 

The ClintoniAn Party as it is de.-ignated by the 
faction, has long and deservedly been respected by the 
people. It is entitled to their regard, because it is 
composed of republicans from affection, and which no 
condition of things can change. Its destinies are in^ 
ter woven with the whig interests of the state. The 
Chntonian party grew up with the revolution, and 
must be lost v^'hen the principles of that brilliant aera 
are forgotten or abandoned. Yet this party are de- 
clared to have forfeited all claim to public confidence. 
Their friends both in and out of the state are denounc- 
ed as enemies to liberty, and, without a single excep- 
tion, they are, in the most formal and deliberate 
manner, charged " with sacrificing the best interests of ^ 
the nation^ arid even encouraging the obstinacy of fo- 
reig?i powers in their aggressions.** 

Clintonians ! In what have you sacrificed *' the 
best interests of the nation ?" In what have you 
encouraged " foreign powers in their aggresssions V 

MEN, COUNTRYMEN, AND BRETHREN, 

Doe? not decency require, and justice dentand that 
there should be some proof of the fact ? Is the peo- 



5- 

pie a mon'Jter that vs il! swallow any tiling ? Ilavte Lht? 
people no intelligence — that a Martling's merfing shai! 
thus dare to sport with them ? Will Mangle Minlliorno 
deign to tell us in what respect the Cliiitonians have 
sacrificed " the best interests of the nation ?" In what 
respect have they " encouraged foreign powers in 
their aggressions ?" What foreign powers have they 
thus encouraged ? Is it France and C^reat Britahi— 
Denmark and S\^den — or Spain and Rus5-ia ? Av i.e 
men will desnise such excessive extravac::'.noies, iwA 
ascribe them to a disordered imagination, but mankind 
in genera] are unwilling to make such allowance;?, and 
usually impute calumny and falsehood to a radicul 
error of the heart. 

Hence there is a point of endurance beyond which 
public patience will not go, and insult and injury w ill 
no longer be borne. This desperate faction has 
aroused the most indifferent, and inflamed the mo.^,t: 
moderate. The hardihood of their accusations, and 
the extent to which they have carried them, have 
awakened universal resentment, and the time has at. 
last come when the people will be satisfied. 

To a considerate man, it is obvious that the wlii-y 
party in the state will no longer endure these reproach- 
es in silence. They demand and have a right to know 
the CHARACTERS of the men that dare to make such 
accusations. 

It is a maxim of our jurisprudence, founded in the 
immutable principles of equity and justice, and con- 
forms with our habits, that when a private individual 
is accused, he has a right to know the character of 
the accuser. This maxim appHes with multiplied force 
when whole clashes of citizens are openly and rudely 



6 

Assailed. Citizens who have identified themselves with 
liberty and virtue, who belong to the mass of the peo* 
pie, and can have no interest separate from their own. 

In such an inquiry it would be as disgusting as it 
would be unavailing, to draw under observation the 
character of the editors of the Morning Post and Pub- 
lic Advertiser ; pursuing the destruction of the repub- 
lican party, though by different means, they have long 
since relinquished all pretensions to veracity. Their 
unceasing efforts to destroy the Clintonians have be- 
trayed their malignity, without repairing their reputa- 
tions, and a question remains to be solved whether 
folly or falsehood is the most impotent. 

Nor can it be expected that I should reduce myself 
to a level and waste the time of the reader with the 
profligate of all parties. Such men can have no char- 
acter. Their influence like their reputation is confined 
to the boxes of a porter house. I shall however do 
justice to the meeting ; they have a claim upon me for 
justice, and they shall have it. 

I shall proceed directly to their chief, and examine 
Jhe character of the man whom they chose for their 
(Chairman ; under the sanction of whose name the peo- 
ple of this state are gravely called upon to make greaB 
and unusual sacrifices, and even to throw contumely 
and reproach upon George Clint »n, the pride of hie 
native state ; the ornament of his country ; the man 
who has guided us safely through the storms and tem- 
pests of an arduous conflict; wise in the cabinet; 
brave in the field; upright in private life; affording us 
by the numberless proofs of his patriotism, and the 
uniform tenor of his long and useful life, a just claim 
^ rank hjm with Aristides of Greece, and Cincinatu? 



•f Rome. This is not the language of adulation.-^ 
The fame of the vice-president can neither be encreaS" 
ed or diminished by a handbill. The writer of this 
can receive nothing from him. It is a tribute due to 
great and extraordinary virtues. Some modern Plu- 
tarch vN'ill record his services and his fame. He will 
live in the affections of his country, and posterity will 
wonder that he should have had an enemy in the re- 
public. 

Whigs and Sons of Whigs ! 

What will be your feelings when you shall knov;^ 
that the man who presided at the meeting — the instru- 
ment that intrigue and artifice made use of to sow dis- 
aentions in the republican ranks — the person under 
whose name your venerable Clinton was to be sacri- 
ficed — who sat ai the immolation in defiance of all 
public decency, and in mockery and scoff of every 
whig feeling — was a tory. 

I speak not on light or equivocal grounds. The evi- 
dence is decisive and irresistible. The British dun- 
jeons and prison ships have left some living witnesses; 
The fact is a matter of record. 

Mangle Minthorne, the chairman of thk meeting, 
WAS A TORY, and in the day's of '76 was by the New- 
York committee of safety, unanimously voted to be an 
enemy to the American cause. He remained under 
British protection — was fostered by the enemies of hit; 
country, and enriched by their favor and|patronage. 



8 



Extract fro IK the rniiiufi's of the 
C'jTmni'tef of nafety^for the 
City and C^^vnty of J\\r-^rf. 
Ytrk, in ITJG. 



Yv 



Jviue 5, 1776. 



Committee met by Jdiouniment. 

PRESENT. 

GariTt Abcel, Cluirmr.nj 

Mr. Dunsccmbj 

Mr. Ash, 

\>l\. Gilbert, 

Mv. Kierstead, 

Mr. Bj.Jvc, 

Mr. Y-aii Dyke, 

Mr. S. Scjiernicrhorh, 

Mr. N.- Anthony, 

Mr. Bisset, • 

Mr. Stockholm, 

Mr. Wilmot, 

Mr. Ivers, 

Mr. Eiliot, 

Mr. Manley, 

Mr. Campbell, 

Mr. Prince. 

The committee proceeded on 
the iiiformalion u^>- anst Captaiii 
Mangle Minthorne, and exam- 
ined witnesses. The same af- 
ternoon, the committee takinc 
into consideration the informa- 
tion against Mangle Minthorne, 
«nd the evidence touching the 
same, thereupon, 

Resolved^ That the said Man- 
gle Minthorne has designedly 
and knowingly violated the re- 
solution of Congress in the sale 
of tea, and that he be held up 
to the public and considered as 
an enemy to the American 
cause, and ti'eated accordingly. 

Ordered, th..t Mr. Wihnot 
prepare and rcpoit aa advertise- 
incnt for that purpo.se. 

Adjourned until To-morrow 
Morning. 



Thursday Mormuj; 
June 6, 1776. "^ 

Committee inet by Adjournment'. 

PRESENT, 

Gurrit Abed, Chairman. 

Mr. Harper, 

Capt. Ivers, 

Capt. Johnston^ 

Mr. A. Gilbert, 

Mr. Dunscomb, 

Mr. Van Dyke, 

Mr. Campbell, 

Mr. Bl eke, 

Mr. S. Schcrmerhorn) 

C.^pt Lawson, 

M. Wilmot, 

Cc.pt. Revier, 

Col. Lott. 

Mr. Wilmot, agreeable t-o an 
)rderof yesterday, reported an 
.dvertisement against Mangle 
Minthornfuwhich being read and 
amended is as follows, viz : com- 
plaint wus^ made to the general 
committee for this city and 
county, on the 3d day of May 
last, against Miaigle Minthorne, 
a shop keeper, in Butteau- 
street,* for violating a resolve 
of the hon. continental congress 
in the sale of tea, and as he made 
oath that he had not then seen 
either the i^esolve of congress 
or this committee, in tenderness 
to him and his family, supposing 
him to have no design to coun- 
teract the said resolve of con- 
gress, and on his promising 
them not to be guilty of the like 
again, did agree that the publi- 
cation of his affidavit would be 
s .tisfactory for that offence : — 
but have since on the fullest 
proof found that by an avari- 
cious principle he has not only 

* Jsfcw called Dev-street. 



9 



violated his promise, hut that he 
is .to lost to all fiiMic virtue and 
love for his cou7itry^ as tliat he 
not only in several instances has 
again violated the resoh^es of 
the continental congress, by 
selling that detestable article of 
tea, at a higher price than by 
them limited, but also has said 
several disres/iectful things of 
?he resolves of that body. This 
committee therefore, in conse- 
quence of the trust reposed in 



them, are obligftd to publish to 
the world, THAT MANGLE 
MINTIiORNE IS BY THEM 
UNANIMOUSLY VOTED, 
AND OUGHT BY THE 
PUBLIC TO BE CONSID- 
ERED AND TREATED AS 
AN ENEMY TO THE A- 
MERiCAN CAUSE, and con- 
sequently ought to be precluded 
from all i^itcrcourse with the in- 
hubHaits of these UNITED 
COLONIES. 



Suck is the character 6f him, undei" whose auspices 
proscription and denunciation have stalked abroad, 
offending public decorum, and impudently laying 
claim to exclusive virtue and patriotism. 

Have the whigs forgotten that whilst this man was 
fattening upon the miseries of his country, they 
and their families were driven from their altars and 
their homes, leaving their property to be desolatedj 
and themselves encountering all the hardships cf seven 
years banishment? Have they forgotten that George 
Clinton retired with them — sharing their misfortunes 
—relieving their wants — counselling for their safety — - 
and finally bringing them back with security and with 
triumph. 



To his Excellency., George Clin- 
ton.,Escj.GovcrnoroftheState 
of .A''L"iv-York, Cojumander in 
Chief of the Militia., and Jd- 
miral of the A'avy of the same. 

The Address of the Citizens 
of New-York who have re- 
turned from exile, in behalf 
of them? elves and their suf- 
fering brethren. 

SIR., 

When wfe consider your 
faithful labours at the Ivcad of 



the government of this stntP, 
devoid, as we conceive every 
free people ought to be of flat- 
tery, we think \:q should not be 
wanting in gratitude to your vi- 
gilant and assiduous services ui 
the civil line. 

The state, sir, is highly in- 
debted to you in your military 
capacity: a sense of y(nu> real 
merit will sc<'ure to you that 
rep'Uaticn which a br;;ve niai,, 
exposing himself in defence of 
his couutrv, will ever deserve. 



10 



We most sincerely congratu- 
late you on your happy arfival 
at the capital of the state. Your 
Excellency hath borne a pirt 
with us in the general distress, 
and was ever ready to alleviate 
the calamities you could not 
effectually remove. Your ex- 
ample taught us to suffer Avith 
dignity. 

We beg- leave tor*ureycur 
excellency, that as prudent cit- 
izens and f<athful subjects to 
the people of the state of New- 
York, we will do every thing 
in our power to enable you to 
support order and good govern- 
ment in the community over 
which you have, by the suffrages 
o. a free and discerning people, 
been elected to preside. 

Signed at the request of the 
meeting. 

Tho. Randall, 
Dunl. Phoenix, 
Saml. Broome, 
Tho. Tucker, 
Henry Kipp, 
Pat. Dennis, 
Wm. Gilbert, Sen. 
Wm. Gilbert, Jun. 
Francis Van Dyke, 
Jeremiah Wool, 
Geo. Janeway, 
Abraham P. Lott, 
Epliraim Brashier. 

.Ve-iv-York J^fov. 22d, 1783. 



HIS EXCELLE^"CY S ANSWER, 

Gentlcme?7f 

Accept my most sincere 
thanks for yovu' very affection- 
ate and res]3cctful address. — 
Citizens, who like ycu, to vm- 
dicc.te the sacred cause of free- 
dom, quitted their native city, 
their i\,<itunes, and professions, 



and sustained with manly forti- 
tude the rigours of a long and 
painful exile, superadded to the 
gi iex'^us cal.anitics of a venge- 
ful WAR, merit, in an eminent 
degree, the title of patriots, and, 
the esteem of mankind : arjd 
your confidence and approbation 
are honours v/hicli cannot be 
received without the utmost 
sensibility, or contemplated 
without gratitude and satisfac- 
tion. 

To your sufferings, and the 
invincible spirit with which 
they were surmounted, I have 
been witness ; and while I sym- 
pathized in your distresses, I 
have deeply lamented that I had 
not means to alleviate them, 
equal to my mciination. 

The assurances of ydxir firm 
support in the administration of 
government, give me singular 
pleasure. A reverence for the 
laws is peculiarly essential to 
public safety and prosperity un- 
der our free constitution ; and 
should we suffer the authority 
of the magistrate to be violated 
for tlie sake of private ven- 
geance, we should be unworthy 
of the numberless blessings 
v^^hich an indulgent Providence 
hath placed within our reach. 
I shall endeavou:**.eadily to dis- 
charge my duty, and 1 flatter 
myself that this state will be- 
come no less distinguished for 
justice and public tranquillity in 
peace, than it has hitherto been 
mai'ked in wsx, for vigovir, for- 
titude, and pcrseverence. 

Gentlemen^ 

Your kind congratulations on 
my arrival at this metropolis, 
after so long an absence, are 
highly acceptable ; and I most 
cordially feciliL^.te with you on 
the joyful events which have 



11 



, I'cstorcti us to the free aiwl un- 
i cOiAi ouiubic cnjoyiiient of our 
^ rjg-lits. While Wo lei^arci with 
inviolable grutitude and affec- 
tion, uli who have aitlecl us by 
their counsel or their urms, let 
us not be unminufui of thiit Al- 
■rnigiity Being, whose gracious 
providence has been mianiicstly 
interposed for our dcliverunce 



und protection ; raid let us shew 
by oui viMucs. iiu.t wc ut&». rve 
to pc.it.dce of tiic freedom, sjve- 
rci^aty, and independence, 
which are so h..ppiiy estiibllbii- 
ed throughout these United 
States. 

GEO. CLINTON. 

Js^etv-Yorky Ac-. 26, 1783. 



FELLOW-CITIZENS, 

I have given to you Namfs, Times and Places. 
I will not insult you by Declamation — I state facts- 
It rests with you to make commentaries. 



A Vvliig of 76. 



'^^yi, 



